Agriculture pollutes underground drinking water in Minnesota. Well ... - Minnesota Reformer
WEAVER, Wabasha County — The water that pours out of the taps at Jeff Broberg's house is crystal clear, refreshing and odorless. But Broberg, 68, doesn't drink it. The issue is only visible on the molecular scale. Like Broberg, many rural Minnesotans rely on private wells, which tap into groundwater systems spread underneath rolling crop fields and livestock operations. When nitrates from the agriculture operations seep into the water and make it unsafe to drink, well owners pay the price. When Broberg, a geologist, bought his farm in 1986, he tested the well water. The nitrate levels were elevated, but still below the Environmental Protection Agency's contamination limit. With each periodic test, the nitrate concentration increased until it surpassed the EPA's safety standard of 10 parts per million in 1990 and eventually climbed to 22 ppm. Nitrogen is a naturally occurring element critical to human and plant life, and it's a core component of the...